A Dog of Flanders
Don’t watch A Dog of Flanders unless you have got an adequate supply of tissue paper. Or a very large and absorbent handkerchief. This movie, about the life of an orphan, from toddler to teen, is full of heart-breaking scenes.
The dog plays a pivotal role in the story. The ending is tricky. First I wept with unbridled tears then I wept with tears of joy. Why? Watch it to find out. Don’t forget the tissues.
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This 1999 movie produced by Woodbridge Films under the direction of Kevin Brodie is a screen adaptation of the original story by Ouida. The movie was shot on site in Flanders, the Flemish or Dutch-speaking part of modern-day Belgium. The opening scene set the tone for the movie’s sentimental and sombre mood.
At the start of the movie A Dog of Flanders, Nello, the main character, was a toodler in his mother’s arms as she struggled against a snow storm to reach her father’s house. She told her father to give her old toys to her son, Nello, before she breathed her last.
Then the movie fast-forwarded to when Nello was already a young boy, sketching away with chalk on a slat, exhibiting the artistic talent he had inherited from his late mother. The dog came into the picture as Nello and Jehan, his grandfather, were on their way back from the market after selling their daily milk. The dog had been thrown by the roadside, left to die, after it’s heartless drunken master had beaten it nearly to death. Nello took the dog home and nursed it back to health.
Stages in the progressive improvement in the dog’s health were depicted by the sketches that Nello made. At last, the dog was back on it’s feet and could help to earn it’s keep by pulling the cart that took the milk to sell in the market every day. Jehan had, by now, named the dog, Patrasche, after the middle name of Nello’s late mother.
The dog was a Bouvier, a medium-sized work dog complete with long, black curly hair. The Bouvier des Flandres, it’s full name in French meaning “Cow Herders of Flanders”, is a herding dog breed originating from Flanders which is strong and sturdy. It is used to herd cattle and pull carts. Today it is also used as a police dog and kept as pets, too.
The movie meandered along. Nello’s artistic talent grew with time. The artistic talent which he inherited from his late mother developed. However his budding relationship with Aloise, the girl next door, did not fare so well. Aloise was the daughter of the local miller, who had forgotten his own humble beginnings and forbade his daughter from seeing Nello whom he despised for being poor.
The drunken former master of Patrasche came back and met the fate he deserved. The dog paid him back in full for his previous ill-treatment. Nello’s talent was noticed by an established painter who took the young boy under his patronage.
The movie A Dog of Flanders came to an end in another snow storm. Actually it came to an end twice. What am I talking about? That’s for you to find out when you watch the movie.
Overall, I consider this movie full of heart. And heart-breaks. The opening scene of a dying mother who had nothing to leave her son to remember her by except for her old toys tugged at the heart-strings of any who had ever had a mother. The scene where Nello and Aloise were forced to part was also very sad.
Maybe Kleenex should have sponsored the production of the Dog of Flanders movie.
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